'Dad was pleading to die': Alleged aged care horrors revealed

Australian families and industry whistleblowers have lashed out aged care providers across the country in a heart breaking series of interviews that claim to reveal shocking treatment of elderly residents.

Two nurses who chose not to be identified told A Current Affair they currently work in a Queensland nursing home which is fudging its funding applications to get more money from the Federal Government.

The pair say they are told to lie about the behaviour of aged care residents in documentation, which is then lodged as an application for Government subsidies through the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI).

Leslie Page, 91, was a client at Marebello Aged Care in Queensland. (9news)Two Queensland nurses claim the nursing home they work in is fudging its funding applications. (9news)

This claim was supported by another former aged care nurse, "Lynn", who says she witnessed the same thing occur in nursing homes across New South Wales.

The family of 91-year-old Leslie Page told of their anger at Marebello Aged Care in Queensland, claiming his lesion and wound care were neglected and that the facility was serving their father sub-standard food.

“Food is disgusting, my father went in there as a small man and came out a skeleton,” Mr Pages’s daughter Lorrina said.

Mr Page's daughter Lorinna said Mr Page 'wanted to die' after he was put in the home. (9news)

Lorrina also claimed the facility failed to alert her early enough when her father was dying and being taken to hospital.

"In the end dad was pleading to die, he wanted to die to get out. And he did.”

The Page family took their complaints to the Aged Care Commissioner who largely cleared the facility of any wrong-doing, but did pull Marebello up on gaps in its wound care.

The facility has now put in place changes which the Aged Care Commissioner says its satisfied with.

Complaints about sub-standard food have been made about several nursing homes. (9news)

A Current Affair presented the claims of family members and whistleblowers to the Federal Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt who admitted facilities had exploited the ACFI subsidy process and the government had cracked down as a result.

He also said it was a nurse's responsibility to report their employer if they suspect funding rorts were an issue.